Opus signinum

The technique, most probably invented by the Phoenicians, is documented in the early 7th cent. BC at Tell el-Burak (Lebanon), then in Phoenician colonies in North Africa, some time before 256 BC, and spread north from there to Sicily and finally to the Italian peninsula. Floors of signinum are found extensively in the Punic towns of North Africa and commonly in the Hellenistic houses on Sicily. While some signinum pavements have been found in Rome, the technique is not common there. Vitruvius describes the process of laying a floor, whether signinum or mosaic. The trend began in the 1st century BC, proliferating in private homes as well as public buildings. By the 2nd century, opus signinum would give way to more patterned styles of pavement. ==References==